Seat 2A

This is quite a long report and I can't help but wonder when noticing the tallies (2902 hits, 35 comments so far) how many people may have opened it, looked at the content and the length, then just threw up their hands and walked away. I tried re-reading it on the long flight across the Pacific last night and fell asleep before I finished! So, to all of you who've taken the time to read all or part of this report's 26000+ words and then comment, thank you so much! Your kind words are truly appreciated and certainly serve to corroborate the time and effort that go into a report of this length.

If you thought the travels reported upon here were crazy, consider flying to Australia and back in economy class over a five day period. I miss the good old days when flights from Oz made stops in Fiji and Hawaii on their way to the west coast. Thirteen and a half hours is an awfully long time to sit in anything but a First Class suite! While there's little if any jetlag flying westbound, the return flight is a real bear. In any event, let me take a moment to answer a few more comments and questions while I still enjoy a brief moment of lucidity this morning.

Thanks, catweazel! I use a simple Canon SD850i pocket camera. I don't know anything about photography but I'd like to think I do a decent job with picture composition. Really though, I honestly try to take a good picture. I can't imagine why some people here submit blurry or poorly composed pictures, but the fact is many trip reporters here at FlyerTalk do exactly that. I mean, it's hardly rocket science to photograph a plate of food or an airplane cabin. If the subject is something I know I'll want to use in a report, I'll usually take 3-4 pictures and select the best one. It all boils down to taking the time to do it as well as I can.

I never fail to disappoint? This report must've been a huge disappointment, then! Thank you though for your kind offer to meet up in Brisbane. I gave no notice of my arrival because I was met at the airport and actually spent no time in Brisbane other then the hour and a half it took to get out of town. The return flight was out of Sydney.

To those of you wondering why I didn't stay longer in Australia - it's a wonderful place that I've thoroughly enjoyed visiting over a dozen times, but when you factor in the costs of an extended stay as well as a desire to spend more time back home in Alaska (where I also have no small number of chores and commitments to attend to) it was an easy decision to make this a quick trip for the wedding only. As anyone who's read this report by now knows, I have no problem with spending only a short time at some destinations.

Thanks, BT. I've been walkin' the walk since my first mileage run in 1988 though I was doing some pretty extreme flying via Unlimited Mileage Fares even back in the seventies.

Super-Duper Diamond Encrusted Kryptonite Level! (a.k.a. MVP Gold 75K)

Thanks, zookeeper! It seems my reports might best be started first thing in the morning over a cup of coffee, though some FTers have indicated a distinct preference toward enjoying them with a bottle of good scotch or wine, perhaps best started a bit later in the day.

Dang, you're well on your way, Mr. King! 54000 miles by late February is nothing to sneeze at. Most years I try to knock off about that much by March and finish off the rest in September/October. Here's wishing you many upgrades and great weather on your Boston runs. ^^

I stopped flying as much with United shortly after they stopped flying to Fairbanks (1999) and then cut back to just one flight per day out of Anchorage, departing at the uncivilized hour of 1:00am. Does United still do status matches? I'd heard they don't though I sure would like to check out some of those Star Alliance First Class products.

eightblack, you are the most naturally gifted writer I've ever had the pleasure of reading here at FlyerTalk, so I really am quite honored and appreciative of your positive comments. We write different styles of trip reports but seem to run in the same company of well regarded written reports. As for traveling in the same company, there's certainly no charge for that. I think it'd be great to meet up on a flight or three some day, preferably one up in the front of the aircraft!

warreng24

UA recently announced seasonal DEN-FAI-DEN service starting 07 June 2012 to 27 August 2012.

Depart DEN @ 1924
Arrive FAI @ 2256

Depart FAI @ 2355
Arrive DEN @ 0715 +1

These flights are operated by pre-merger CO B738 aircraft.

Here's the tread on the route announcement.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...c-ewr-bzn.html




Pre-merger UA used to do status matches, but they recently started doing status "challenges" (like CO and AA).

I assume that the post-merger MileagePlus entity will also do "challenges" (rather than matches).

Here's the "challenge" thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ad-merged.html

QF WP

No disappointment from me, Seat 2A, just sleep deprivation. Got a PM from Mwenenzi so knew that you had already here...your explanation makes sense why you didn't advertise it. What an effort...with only 3 days.

I'm looking to bring the family to SEA and GEG late this year, so will let you know when it's arranged to see if we can meet up. Maybe I should try and do a MR to ANC

heramato

It's admirable that you seem to resist pretty well AND enjoy this ammount of travel. I understand though that 13.5 hs in economy is a terrible experience (let alone do it again 5 days later). I'm at GRU lounge now after flying FLR-LX C-ZRH-LX F-GRU and feel prety exhausted! I've been waiting for 5 hours for my connexion here.
I enjoy a lot your trip reports.
Cheers

ua_to_ord

Thank you for this superbly crafted trip report! It was such a pleasure to read and, indeed, breathe in the varied experiences of that month in airports and aircraft.

HawaiiTrvlr

Seat 2A, another outstanding report. I am just upset that I didn't notice it until today and it was first posted 4 days ago. I guess you are used to sleeping on the floor of terminals. I have a pad for camping and it must not be nearly as comfortable as yours.

Seat 2A

Airport camping at its finest

Comfort is relative - Were I at home I might deem my Thermarest pad uncomfortable, or certainly less comfortable than a proper bed. On an airport floor however, it provides a nice even surface that's better than any couch or row of seats and all things considered, I think it's about as good as it gets. I normally put that little pillow on the smaller part of my daypack and then the maglight headlamp and eyeshades complete the ensemble.

SeamasterLux

Dear Seat2A,

I'm rather new to this site and also to FFP-madness. I have wondered about whether I should write TR and thus decided to read what others were writing about their experience.

I have to admit that beyond your truly enjoyable way of writing and your easy going tone, you do write superbly well and also teach some good lessons to some flyers that do act like spoiled kids.

I'm very glad to have found your TR and will gladly read the others.

Thank you for this good moment ^

Traveling man spokane

Seat 2A, congratulations on both your endurance/stamina and writing ability. Your narrative was a great read! Just curious, how much did all those flights cost?

glu800

Holy cow, this must be the mother of all mileage runs and trip reports combined!! You definitely have more endurance than us mere mortals haha. Congrats on the amazing photos and writing. *Bow down in awe* ^^

rob_flies_ua

Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post this TR. It was a great read! And in response to your comment above, I opened this TR and had to leave it open in a tab in my browser for a few days because I didn't want to lose my place reading it.

Of your million miles on UA, were they all revenue miles? Aka, do you have million miler status and lifetime (premier executive/premier gold)?

PTK346

Kudos, Seat 2A, both for an inspiring MR and a superbly written trip report. I thought I was a little tired when my MR schedule tapered off in mid-February - but I only managed half the miles you did! Well done.

Your TR stirred up a ton of memories; here's just one: Like you, and like a7800 (post #15), I too have stayed at McGuire's Motor Inn in Pontiac (now Waterford), Michigan. Stayed there for temporary lodging when I was transferred to the control tower at Pontiac back in the day...glad to hear it's still a worthy place to spend the night.

Keep up the great work!

SFO777

Seat_2A, I finally had a little time today to read your amazing TR. OMG, I thought some of those AA January triple EQM runners were crazy, but this may top them all. What a fabulous read. Love the mix of flights and cities instead of the those boring back-to-back SFO-ORD roundtrips. And you always add of couple of those nostalgic train rides. Thanks for posting!

Seat 2A

I was quite surprised to see that this report had gotten mention in the latest FlyerTalk newsletter. I've no doubt that attention must have contributed to the latest flurry of comments here. I would have thought my two reports on international First Class travel to Africa and back, published last year about this time, would have brokered a broader appeal but they got no mention at all. Regardless, I really do appreciate that so many of you found this report worthy of the substantial amount of time necessary to read it and of course am truly thankful for any and all of your comments whenever they are posted.

I get a kick out of the endurance comments. Should there ever be an "Iron Man" (Lead Butt) contest for mileage runners, I'd like to think I'd be a worthy contender.

As to my United flights, I've logged 1.2 million miles with UA of which only about two thirds are revenue mileage. There'll be no lifetime status for me although I do have some nice parting gifts in the form of a plaque, a nice carry-on bag and some great memories.

SFO777, that a traveller of your considerable experience and style can find something enjoyable in my ramblings about simple domestic travel, albeit extreme travel, is quite the compliment. Thank you and I fervently hope that you can someday convince Mrs. 777 that premium class train travel would make a nice addition to your worldly wanderings. Good luck in this endeavor and I will do my best to assist you with a couple of upcoming rides in my next report.

I leave in three days.

rot8

I haven't been on FT for a long time, but quickly found your latest report and, as always, enjoyed it thoroughly. Hope you are keeping well and I look forward to reading about the next adventure. Keep up the good flying and the good writing!